First Impressions
"That'll be $25.63," said the taxi driver. We had just stopped in front of my new farm. But by looking at it, the farm looked nothing close to new.
"Here, keep the change," I said as I handed the cab driver twenty six dollars. I got out of the car and got my suitcase out of the trunk. As the cab drove off I looked at my new plot of land.
There were a lot of things to be done and I had no idea how to do most of them. I looked up at the sign at the entrance of the farm and could barely make out the words Willow Ranch. As I walked towards the field of the farm I found out that my grandpa had really let the place go in the last couple of years. There were weeds everywhere and unwanted boulders and stone littered the ground. As if that wasn't enough, there were randomly placed stumps throughout the field.
Then I heard a small scratching noise coming from inside the house. As I got closer to the front door it grew louder and I grew curious as to what was inside. I cautiously opened up the door and out ran a small dog. It jumped up on me and then ran around outside in circles by the barn. I then remembered that grandpa had a dog at my last visit. But this couldn't have been the same dog since that was eighteen years ago and this dog was just a puppy. I realized that the small canine would need a name, so I decided on the name Ragly, the name of my old stuffed bear from when I was young.
I decided to leave Ragly alone for a while and go inside to explore the house. Well let me tell you, there wasn't that much to explore. It was a small one-room house with only one window. There was a plain wooden bed with plain white sheets in the far corner and a simple wooden nightstand next to it with a diary and a photo album on it. A small plain wooden table was at the center of the room and a TV was up against the far wall. This was where I was going to live for who knows how long. It was definitely different than the urban settings of the big city and there were going to be some big changes to this house if I was going to live there.
"Hello." Some one was at the front door. "Hello, anyone there?" It was an older man's voice. I went outside and saw a short, stout man standing by the shipping bin. "Hi, you must be Brad Conley. Nice to meet you."
We shook hands and then I asked, "Yeah…. Ummm I don't want to sound rude but who are you?"
"Oh I'm sorry I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Henry Jacobs the third but most people just call me the Mayor."
Oh so he's the mayor. "Well nice to meet you Mr. Jacobs."
"No, please call me the Mayor. Mr. Jacobs sounds too formal. Well anyway, I'm here to welcome you to Flower Bud Village. Would you like to go on a short tour of the village?"
The Mayor seemed so enthusiastic, like my arrival was the most exciting thing happening right now. "Sure, I'd love to," I answered.
As we left the farm I couldn't help thinking of when I was last here, eighteen years ago. I was only seven then and everything seemed so much bigger than it is now. Grandpa was always in a good mood and made sure I was having fun my whole visit. One thing that sticks out in my mind about the visit was I met a girl but I can't seem to remember her name. She was fun, adventurous, and kept me company for the duration of my stay. When I left to go back to the city, we were both crying and I promised I would come back. I never saw her again.
"Okay Brad, this area is the crossroads. To your immediate left is Green Ranch where you can buy and sell animals and livestock. You can find most of your animal supplies there. If you go left and then take the path that goes up that small hill, you'll find yourself at the vineyard. Their wine once was the greatest in the area but now, well lets just say it's gone a little sour. Ever since the grandma past away the wine has never tasted as good and if I were you I would stay clear away from their wine. It's just not worth the money anymore," said the Mayor.
I was kind of surprised on how much the Mayor gossiped. "Why is it not worth the money anymore?" I asked.
"Because it just doesn't have that extra kick in it. It doesn't have that special something that makes you want to have another glass. I think it's because the owner of the place and his daughter have been having some personal issues which are taking their attention away from the quality of the wine. Anyway, that's not important right now. If you go right and keep on going straight, then you'll be in the forest and behind that is Moon Mountain. Shall we move on to the village?" he asked.
I nodded my head and we continued straight, then down the right side of the fork that led to Flower Bud Village.
Our first stop was the Flower Bud Village Flower Shop. It was a small cute little shop with a small garden to its left and a greenhouse behind it. The door opened and a woman came out. She was short, a little shorter than me, and was Asian. Her hair was long and jet black and she wore a blue store apron.
"Hello, you must be Jack's grandson, Brad. It's very nice to meet you," the woman kindly said. "My name is Lilia Lotus, the owner of this flower shop."
"The best flower shop there is," the Mayor said cheerfully.
"Oh, he's just being nice," she said proudly. "Anyway, you can find any in season crop and flower seeds here. And don't hesitate to ask any questions you have about planting or harvesting or anything about crops and flowers. Oh and before I forget let me introduce you to my daughter, Popuri."
"Did someone say my name?" The voice sounded like it came from behind the flower shop. A couple seconds later, a young woman came up to Lilia. She was obviously Lilia's daughter because their resemblance was impeccable. The only major difference was that Popuri had neatly placed pink streaks down her long black hair. She had a pink, spring dress on that went down to her knees and a pink flower in her hair. She faced Lilia and asked, "Well mom, what did you want?"
"Popuri, this is Brad. Brad this is Popuri," Lilia answered.
"Oh, hi Brad. It's very nice to meet you." She seemed as excited as the mayor was when I told him I would go on a tour with him. "Do you like flowers? I like flowers a lot. I think they're pretty and smell really nice. I like to plant flowers all over the forest with Maria. Maybe you could come with us sometime and…" She said everything so fast I could barely even understand what she was saying. She was like a young child eager to play.
"Popuri, speak slower," her mother interrupted. "Poor Brad is probably confused."
"Oh, never mind," she replied. "I'll see you later. I still have some flowers to water in the garden." Then she ran off to the back of the shop.
"She's kind of a fast talker, but you'll get used to it," Lilia said with a smile. "Well I better get back to work. I still have to do inventory for the week. I'll be seeing you." We waved goodbye and then she went back into the store.
Once the door had closed the Mayor went straight back to his bad habit of gossiping, "Lilia's all about being perfect. It was so obvious that those smiles were fake. Everyone knows that she's actually a sad and depressed woman on the inside. She misses her husband."
"Oh did he die?" I asked.
"No, of course not. He's traveling around the world looking for rare plants and flowers so he could bring them back and spread them around the whole village and forest." The Mayor replied; as if I were suppose to already know this. "But I heard that is not the real reason why. I heard that he is actually leading a second life with another wife and kids and everything."
I was surprised to hear all this gossip and even more surprised that it was coming from the mayor of the town. "You don't actually believe all this…" I chuckled, and then realized he looked serious, "… do you?"
"Of course I do," he answered with confidence. He seemed to be getting a little annoyed. "Well, getting back to the tour, over here we have the church. It is small, yes, but it can hold a lot of people in it if needed and just next-door there is an Inn." I looked past the church and there was a small, two story building that had a homey look to it. "There are a couple of rooms on the second floor and at night the bar is open. It seems to be a hot spot for the youth of the town."
I was surprised that we had gone by two buildings without the Mayor gossiping. As we turned away from the Inn I noticed a long flight of stairs leading up to a large platform, higher than the rest of the town. "Where do these lead?" my curiosity asked, as I pointed to the stairs.
"Oh yes, those lead to one of the most important place in town, the Town Square." The Mayor answered. "There, annual festivals and events are held. Most of the villagers come to these fun events and it's a great place to meet new people. Oh and before I forget, the Planting Festival will be held on the eighth. It would be great if you could join us."
"Oh, umm sure, I'll be happy to join you." I was glad to hear that this rural, little village actually had some kind of social events.
"That's great!" the Mayor shouted. "It'll be really fun and exciting; I promise. So moving on, Rick lives and runs his shop in this building and there's a craft store next door."
"What kind of store does Rick have?" I asked.
"Well, he sells stuff like tools and things for you house. He's an "inventor" if you know what I mean," he said with a wink. "And over here we have-"
"Kinsmon's Bakery!" I blurted as I raced in excitement to the front lawn.
"Brad, is that you?" came a familiar voice, "Oh my god, it is you!" The owner of the voice was Elli, my best friend from childhood.
As we embraced in a huge bear hug, a confused Mayor asked, "Have you two met before?"
"Of course we have Henry. I used to live next door to him in the city before I moved back here." Elli cheerfully answered.
"Oh, well I'll just give you two a moment to catch up while I go inside and have some tea," he said as he turned to go inside the building.
"How come you didn't tell me you are coming to live here? I had to find out through the Mayor's gossip, and even then I didn't know if it was true or not," she said. "But anyway, you've changed so much since I've seen you last. How long has it been? Ten years I think."
"I've changed? You the one who's changed." I said with a smile. "I almost didn't even recognize you." She really had changed a lot. She now had dark brown hair that reached just bellow her shoulders (which used to only go down to her neck). She wore a thin-strapped, light green shirt and a long, dark green skirt. She had black boots on and a silver necklace that had belonged to her mother.
"Well speak for yourself. I used to be three inches taller than you," she replied back. We hugged again. "I've missed you."
"Me too." It had really been a long time since I saw her last. When she was five, her mom, dad, brother, and she moved from here to help run their family bakery, which was a block away from where I lived. We became good friends and went to the same elementary and middle school.
But in the summer before freshmen year, there was a tragic accident at the bakery. Four men in black trench coats walked into the store and ordered four chocolate pies from Alice, Elli's mom (who was working the counter that day). The men wore black sunglasses, black hats, and black pants and each on had one hand in their coat. Alice whispered to Benny, Elli's brother (who was helping his mom behind the counter) to go call the police from the back room. As Benny casually left for the back room, the men pulled out guns and shot Alice three times in the head and Benny was shot in the back of his neck. It seemed that her uncle (who helped run the bakery) had made a lot of enemies when he used to do dealing and he owed a lot of debts. Elli and her dad moved back to Flower Bud Village in fear of their own lives. I never saw her again, until now.
"So how's your dad?" I asked innocently. "I haven't seen him in a while."
"Oh…" her smile left her face. "Dad died a couple of years ago, from lung cancer."
My smile left my face too, "Oh, I'm so sorry."
"That's okay. He had one too many cancer sticks anyway." There was an awkward silence.
"Well time to go," the Mayor said as he came out the door of the bakery. "I still have to finish my tour."
"Okay," I replied. "I'll be seein' you later. Bye." I waved to Elli and then we left the village the way we came.
"If you go down the left side of the fork you'll reach the other side of the town," the Mayor explained. "There you'll find the Herbs, Medicine, and More where you can get medicine. The midwife, her son, and her grand daughter live in this part of town along with yours truly. Also my daughter, Maria works at the library, which is next door to my house."
"Well, thank you for the tour," I said kindly as we returned to my farm. "It has been really helpful."
"No problem," the Mayor replied. "Oh and if you have any problems just ask me or anyone else in town," he added and then left.
Well this is my new home. Some people made some interesting first impressions and I'm still not sure if all of the Mayor's crazy stories were true, but I guess I will soon find out. I still hadn't seen a lot of the town, but it was getting late and I was tired from my trip over here.
As I was lying in my bed waiting for sleep to take me away, I realized how much I didn't know grandpa. I only had visited him once before and I was really young then. My father wasn't close to his and he wasn't much of a farmer either. He hated his small town life and once he turned eighteen, he gathered all his life savings and bought a ticket to the big city and never looked back. There he met his future wife and my mom, Lauren. The rest is history.
Like my father, I too left home to seek out a new life. I needed a change and when grandpa died I saw it as an opportunity to leave my old life and start a new. I'm twenty-four now. I own an old, run down farm, I know nothing about farming, and I only have 60 dollars in my wallet. What the hell was I thinking?
"That'll be $25.63," said the taxi driver. We had just stopped in front of my new farm. But by looking at it, the farm looked nothing close to new.
"Here, keep the change," I said as I handed the cab driver twenty six dollars. I got out of the car and got my suitcase out of the trunk. As the cab drove off I looked at my new plot of land.
There were a lot of things to be done and I had no idea how to do most of them. I looked up at the sign at the entrance of the farm and could barely make out the words Willow Ranch. As I walked towards the field of the farm I found out that my grandpa had really let the place go in the last couple of years. There were weeds everywhere and unwanted boulders and stone littered the ground. As if that wasn't enough, there were randomly placed stumps throughout the field.
Then I heard a small scratching noise coming from inside the house. As I got closer to the front door it grew louder and I grew curious as to what was inside. I cautiously opened up the door and out ran a small dog. It jumped up on me and then ran around outside in circles by the barn. I then remembered that grandpa had a dog at my last visit. But this couldn't have been the same dog since that was eighteen years ago and this dog was just a puppy. I realized that the small canine would need a name, so I decided on the name Ragly, the name of my old stuffed bear from when I was young.
I decided to leave Ragly alone for a while and go inside to explore the house. Well let me tell you, there wasn't that much to explore. It was a small one-room house with only one window. There was a plain wooden bed with plain white sheets in the far corner and a simple wooden nightstand next to it with a diary and a photo album on it. A small plain wooden table was at the center of the room and a TV was up against the far wall. This was where I was going to live for who knows how long. It was definitely different than the urban settings of the big city and there were going to be some big changes to this house if I was going to live there.
"Hello." Some one was at the front door. "Hello, anyone there?" It was an older man's voice. I went outside and saw a short, stout man standing by the shipping bin. "Hi, you must be Brad Conley. Nice to meet you."
We shook hands and then I asked, "Yeah…. Ummm I don't want to sound rude but who are you?"
"Oh I'm sorry I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Henry Jacobs the third but most people just call me the Mayor."
Oh so he's the mayor. "Well nice to meet you Mr. Jacobs."
"No, please call me the Mayor. Mr. Jacobs sounds too formal. Well anyway, I'm here to welcome you to Flower Bud Village. Would you like to go on a short tour of the village?"
The Mayor seemed so enthusiastic, like my arrival was the most exciting thing happening right now. "Sure, I'd love to," I answered.
As we left the farm I couldn't help thinking of when I was last here, eighteen years ago. I was only seven then and everything seemed so much bigger than it is now. Grandpa was always in a good mood and made sure I was having fun my whole visit. One thing that sticks out in my mind about the visit was I met a girl but I can't seem to remember her name. She was fun, adventurous, and kept me company for the duration of my stay. When I left to go back to the city, we were both crying and I promised I would come back. I never saw her again.
"Okay Brad, this area is the crossroads. To your immediate left is Green Ranch where you can buy and sell animals and livestock. You can find most of your animal supplies there. If you go left and then take the path that goes up that small hill, you'll find yourself at the vineyard. Their wine once was the greatest in the area but now, well lets just say it's gone a little sour. Ever since the grandma past away the wine has never tasted as good and if I were you I would stay clear away from their wine. It's just not worth the money anymore," said the Mayor.
I was kind of surprised on how much the Mayor gossiped. "Why is it not worth the money anymore?" I asked.
"Because it just doesn't have that extra kick in it. It doesn't have that special something that makes you want to have another glass. I think it's because the owner of the place and his daughter have been having some personal issues which are taking their attention away from the quality of the wine. Anyway, that's not important right now. If you go right and keep on going straight, then you'll be in the forest and behind that is Moon Mountain. Shall we move on to the village?" he asked.
I nodded my head and we continued straight, then down the right side of the fork that led to Flower Bud Village.
Our first stop was the Flower Bud Village Flower Shop. It was a small cute little shop with a small garden to its left and a greenhouse behind it. The door opened and a woman came out. She was short, a little shorter than me, and was Asian. Her hair was long and jet black and she wore a blue store apron.
"Hello, you must be Jack's grandson, Brad. It's very nice to meet you," the woman kindly said. "My name is Lilia Lotus, the owner of this flower shop."
"The best flower shop there is," the Mayor said cheerfully.
"Oh, he's just being nice," she said proudly. "Anyway, you can find any in season crop and flower seeds here. And don't hesitate to ask any questions you have about planting or harvesting or anything about crops and flowers. Oh and before I forget let me introduce you to my daughter, Popuri."
"Did someone say my name?" The voice sounded like it came from behind the flower shop. A couple seconds later, a young woman came up to Lilia. She was obviously Lilia's daughter because their resemblance was impeccable. The only major difference was that Popuri had neatly placed pink streaks down her long black hair. She had a pink, spring dress on that went down to her knees and a pink flower in her hair. She faced Lilia and asked, "Well mom, what did you want?"
"Popuri, this is Brad. Brad this is Popuri," Lilia answered.
"Oh, hi Brad. It's very nice to meet you." She seemed as excited as the mayor was when I told him I would go on a tour with him. "Do you like flowers? I like flowers a lot. I think they're pretty and smell really nice. I like to plant flowers all over the forest with Maria. Maybe you could come with us sometime and…" She said everything so fast I could barely even understand what she was saying. She was like a young child eager to play.
"Popuri, speak slower," her mother interrupted. "Poor Brad is probably confused."
"Oh, never mind," she replied. "I'll see you later. I still have some flowers to water in the garden." Then she ran off to the back of the shop.
"She's kind of a fast talker, but you'll get used to it," Lilia said with a smile. "Well I better get back to work. I still have to do inventory for the week. I'll be seeing you." We waved goodbye and then she went back into the store.
Once the door had closed the Mayor went straight back to his bad habit of gossiping, "Lilia's all about being perfect. It was so obvious that those smiles were fake. Everyone knows that she's actually a sad and depressed woman on the inside. She misses her husband."
"Oh did he die?" I asked.
"No, of course not. He's traveling around the world looking for rare plants and flowers so he could bring them back and spread them around the whole village and forest." The Mayor replied; as if I were suppose to already know this. "But I heard that is not the real reason why. I heard that he is actually leading a second life with another wife and kids and everything."
I was surprised to hear all this gossip and even more surprised that it was coming from the mayor of the town. "You don't actually believe all this…" I chuckled, and then realized he looked serious, "… do you?"
"Of course I do," he answered with confidence. He seemed to be getting a little annoyed. "Well, getting back to the tour, over here we have the church. It is small, yes, but it can hold a lot of people in it if needed and just next-door there is an Inn." I looked past the church and there was a small, two story building that had a homey look to it. "There are a couple of rooms on the second floor and at night the bar is open. It seems to be a hot spot for the youth of the town."
I was surprised that we had gone by two buildings without the Mayor gossiping. As we turned away from the Inn I noticed a long flight of stairs leading up to a large platform, higher than the rest of the town. "Where do these lead?" my curiosity asked, as I pointed to the stairs.
"Oh yes, those lead to one of the most important place in town, the Town Square." The Mayor answered. "There, annual festivals and events are held. Most of the villagers come to these fun events and it's a great place to meet new people. Oh and before I forget, the Planting Festival will be held on the eighth. It would be great if you could join us."
"Oh, umm sure, I'll be happy to join you." I was glad to hear that this rural, little village actually had some kind of social events.
"That's great!" the Mayor shouted. "It'll be really fun and exciting; I promise. So moving on, Rick lives and runs his shop in this building and there's a craft store next door."
"What kind of store does Rick have?" I asked.
"Well, he sells stuff like tools and things for you house. He's an "inventor" if you know what I mean," he said with a wink. "And over here we have-"
"Kinsmon's Bakery!" I blurted as I raced in excitement to the front lawn.
"Brad, is that you?" came a familiar voice, "Oh my god, it is you!" The owner of the voice was Elli, my best friend from childhood.
As we embraced in a huge bear hug, a confused Mayor asked, "Have you two met before?"
"Of course we have Henry. I used to live next door to him in the city before I moved back here." Elli cheerfully answered.
"Oh, well I'll just give you two a moment to catch up while I go inside and have some tea," he said as he turned to go inside the building.
"How come you didn't tell me you are coming to live here? I had to find out through the Mayor's gossip, and even then I didn't know if it was true or not," she said. "But anyway, you've changed so much since I've seen you last. How long has it been? Ten years I think."
"I've changed? You the one who's changed." I said with a smile. "I almost didn't even recognize you." She really had changed a lot. She now had dark brown hair that reached just bellow her shoulders (which used to only go down to her neck). She wore a thin-strapped, light green shirt and a long, dark green skirt. She had black boots on and a silver necklace that had belonged to her mother.
"Well speak for yourself. I used to be three inches taller than you," she replied back. We hugged again. "I've missed you."
"Me too." It had really been a long time since I saw her last. When she was five, her mom, dad, brother, and she moved from here to help run their family bakery, which was a block away from where I lived. We became good friends and went to the same elementary and middle school.
But in the summer before freshmen year, there was a tragic accident at the bakery. Four men in black trench coats walked into the store and ordered four chocolate pies from Alice, Elli's mom (who was working the counter that day). The men wore black sunglasses, black hats, and black pants and each on had one hand in their coat. Alice whispered to Benny, Elli's brother (who was helping his mom behind the counter) to go call the police from the back room. As Benny casually left for the back room, the men pulled out guns and shot Alice three times in the head and Benny was shot in the back of his neck. It seemed that her uncle (who helped run the bakery) had made a lot of enemies when he used to do dealing and he owed a lot of debts. Elli and her dad moved back to Flower Bud Village in fear of their own lives. I never saw her again, until now.
"So how's your dad?" I asked innocently. "I haven't seen him in a while."
"Oh…" her smile left her face. "Dad died a couple of years ago, from lung cancer."
My smile left my face too, "Oh, I'm so sorry."
"That's okay. He had one too many cancer sticks anyway." There was an awkward silence.
"Well time to go," the Mayor said as he came out the door of the bakery. "I still have to finish my tour."
"Okay," I replied. "I'll be seein' you later. Bye." I waved to Elli and then we left the village the way we came.
"If you go down the left side of the fork you'll reach the other side of the town," the Mayor explained. "There you'll find the Herbs, Medicine, and More where you can get medicine. The midwife, her son, and her grand daughter live in this part of town along with yours truly. Also my daughter, Maria works at the library, which is next door to my house."
"Well, thank you for the tour," I said kindly as we returned to my farm. "It has been really helpful."
"No problem," the Mayor replied. "Oh and if you have any problems just ask me or anyone else in town," he added and then left.
Well this is my new home. Some people made some interesting first impressions and I'm still not sure if all of the Mayor's crazy stories were true, but I guess I will soon find out. I still hadn't seen a lot of the town, but it was getting late and I was tired from my trip over here.
As I was lying in my bed waiting for sleep to take me away, I realized how much I didn't know grandpa. I only had visited him once before and I was really young then. My father wasn't close to his and he wasn't much of a farmer either. He hated his small town life and once he turned eighteen, he gathered all his life savings and bought a ticket to the big city and never looked back. There he met his future wife and my mom, Lauren. The rest is history.
Like my father, I too left home to seek out a new life. I needed a change and when grandpa died I saw it as an opportunity to leave my old life and start a new. I'm twenty-four now. I own an old, run down farm, I know nothing about farming, and I only have 60 dollars in my wallet. What the hell was I thinking?